The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Southern Miss
Blazers Finish Strong Friday In Win At Southern Miss
10/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 10, 2008
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- UAB and Southern Miss were even through two sets of Friday night's Conference USA volleyball match, but the Blazers turned it on down the stretch for a 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-12, 25-11) victory.
Casey Dent led all players in the match with 11 kills, while Lilly Domingos added 10 kills and posted just three errors in 18 attempts for a .389 attack percentage. Savannah Pegg also added 10 kills for the Blazers. As a team, UAB out-hit Southern Miss, .223 to .013.
With the win, the Blazers improve to 15-3 (5-1 C-USA). UAB now travels to UCF for a Noon CT match on Sunday. The Knights defeated Memphis, 3-1, Friday to match UAB at 5-1 in conference play and set up a showdown Sunday for first place in the league standings.
In Friday's match, Nevena Stefanov managed her seventh double-double of the season for the Blazers, posting 44 assists and 11 digs. Four UAB players recorded double-digit digs, led by reigning C-USA Offensive Player of the Week Ivana Bozic with 17.
After splitting the first two sets, UAB took control early in the third set and dominated the rest of the way. The Blazers used an nine-point run in the third to set the tone for the remainder of the match.
UAB held a slim 5-4 advantage early in the third set, but a kill by Dent started the Blazers on a string of nine consecutive points, allowing them to open up a 10-point lead at 14-4. From there, UAB's lead never shrunk to fewer than eight points.
In the fourth set, the Blazers picked up where they left off at the end of the third. UAB ran out to a 6-0 lead and did nothing but build on its advantage from there. The Blazers' 14-point margin at the end of the set was its largest lead of any point in the match.
UAB -- which entered Friday's contest receiving votes in the latest CBS College Sports/AVCA Coaches Poll -- extended its winning streak to nine matches, equaling its longest streak from last season. Since dropping their first two matches of the season, the Blazers have won 15 of their past 16.
